Automatic nut finishing machine



1926 8 Sheets-Sheet l J. W. HUGHES AUTOMATIC NUT FINTSHING MACHINE FiledNov 18 INVENTOR IY-Ines Wl? 7166) B ya# f (y Manch l, 1932.

ATTORNEY.

J. w. HUGHES 1,847,342

AUTOMATIC NUT FINISHING MACHINE DplLL,

j ATTORNEY.

March 1, 1932 J, w, HUGHES 1,847,342

AUTOMATIC NUT FINISHING MACHINE Filed Nov 18. 1926 8 Sheets-Sheet 3March 1, 1932. J. w. HUGHES AUTOMATIC NUT FINISHING MACHINE Filed Nov18, 1926 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. mes Wlhe ATTORNEY.

March 1, 1932- J. w` HUGHES AUTOMATIC UT FINISHING MACHINE 8Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov 18, 1926 Zvw A5`TORNEY.

March 1, 1932. .1.w. HUGHES 1,847,342

AUTOMATIC NUT FTNISHING MACHINE Filed Nov 18. 1926 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 v f150 Y 'u Q k ig.. 9i 197195 INVENTOR Y 30M fag/7c Mwah l, 1932. 1. w.HUGHES 1,847,342

AUTOMATIC NUT FINISHING MACHINE Filed Nov 18. 1926 8 Sheets-Sheet '7March 1, 1932. i J* HUGHES 1,847,342

AUTOMATIC NUT FINISHING MACHINE Filed Nov 18, 1926 8 Sheets-Sheet 8if//l/ L 16 Feamgam l oiomzrgy Connie/157km@ I N VEN TOR.

Jm es Wlyhes, BY

jnwfp ATTORNEY.

Patented Mar. l, 1932 lUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JAMES W. HUGHES, OFPHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR BUDD WHEEL COMPANY, F PHILADELPHIA,PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYL- VANIA Application led November18, 1926. Serial No. 149,077.

- character which shall be capable of performing a plurality ofoperations on the blank and yet be relatively compact and occupy acomparatively small loor space.

Another object is to provide a machine which shall automatically feedthe blanks to a rotating work support, position the blanks on saidsupport, and then in succession drill the bore, face the conical or ballshaped end of the blank and also bottom the bore, ream and countersinkthe bore, ball seat the conical head, rough tap the bore, and finallynish 'tap the bore and eject the iinished nut.

Another object is to provide an automatic machine of this generalcharacter which shall*` include means for feeding the work spindles insuch manner as to relieve the tools of all feeding strains andthusobviate overloading or danger of breaking the same.

A further object is to provide a machine which shall be capable ofoperating at high speeds, and which shall perform the various operationswith great accuracy and reliability.

A still further object is to provide a machine of the aforesaidcharacter wherein the various parts shall be so arranged that the toolsthereof shall be readily accessible so that they may be easily andquickly removed or replaced when necessary.

With these and other objects in view, the

invention may be stated to consist in the various novel features ofconstruction and arrangement or combination, all of which willV be fullydescribed hereinafter and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings wherein I have shown an illustrative embodiment of myinvention,

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional View through a machine constructed inaccordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 2,-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a. fragmentary vertical sectional view through the drivegearing housing at the top of the machine but at right angles to thatshown in Fig. 1;

Figs. 4, and 6 are horizontal sectional views taken respectively on thelines 4-4, 5-5, and 6--6 of Fig. 3;

Figs. 7 and 8 are fragmentary vertical sectional views through one ofthe facing spindles and one of the tap spindles respectively;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary detail vertical sectional view through adrilling spindle;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view takenon the line 10--10of Fig. 11 and illustrating the mechanism for raising and loweringcertain of the s indles;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary ront elevation of a pair of the spindles andthe raising and lowering mechanism therefor;

Fig. 12 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 12-12 of Fig.11;

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary view, partl7 1n elevation and partly in sectionof the b ank feeding and positioning mechanism;

Fig. 14 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 14-14 of Fig. 13;

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view showing the nut ejectormechanism;

Fig. 16 is a horizontal View taken on the line 16-16 of Fig. 15;

Fig. 17 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 17-17 of Fig. 1and showing the work supporting table and associated mechamsm;

Fi 18 is a detail sectional view taken on the hne 18-18 of Fig. 17 andshowing the work supporting table lock mechanism;

Fig. 19 is a detail vertical sectional view through the work supportingtable and illustrating one of the chuck mechanisms for holding the nutblanks;

erations 'characters, 1 denotes a suitable base, from which rises ahollow column 2 that supports at its upper end a crank housing 3, whichin turn supports a gear casing 4.

Journalled in crank housing 3 is a drive shaft 5 that is provided at itsouter end with a drive pulley 6 which may be connected with a suitablesource of power, not shown. Shaft 5 has fastened thereto, three drivepinions as indicated at 7, 8 and 9. Pinion 7 meshes with a pinion 10that is carried on a vertically disposed shaft 11 which is jourroughtapping spindles,

nalled in gear casin 4. This shaft mounts a drive pinion 12 which drivesa plurality of work spindles to be referred to hereinafter, and also apinion 13 at its upper end which meshes with a gear 14 (Figs. 1, 3 and4) that is carried by a stub shaft 15, the latter :being journalled inbrackets 16 that project from a side wall of gear casing 4. Stub shaft15 also carries a pinion 17 which meshes with a gear 18 that is mountedon a second stub shaft 19 journalled in the upper of the aforementionedbrackets 16. This stub shaft also has mounted thereon a pinion 20 whichmeshes with an arcuate'rack 21 that has ay continuous guide groove 22formed adjacent the teeth of said rack, and this groove receives thereduced end of stub shaft 19 and serves to accurately maintain thepinion 20 in mesh with said arcuate rack at all points. As shown in Fig.1, the arcuate rack is journalled on a vertically disposed shaft 23which is seated in a socket formed in the lower wall of gear casing 4while the upper end thereof is secured to a bracket 25 extendingtransversely of the gear casing. The arcuate rack plate is also providedwith gear teeth on its peripheral edge as indicated at 26 and theseteeth mesh with'a pinion 27 that is fastened to a vertical shaft 28,such shaft beingY journalled in brackets 29 and 30 which project from aside wall of gear casing 4. Also fastened to shaft 28 is a gear 31 whichmeshes with a larger gear 32 that is journalled on vertical shaft 23. Alarger gear 33 also journalled on shaft 23 is fastened to gear 32 bybolts 34 so as to be rotatable therewith andr this larger gear 33 hasmeshed therewith a plurality of pinions (Fig. 5) which drive the and thefinish tapeach of which vwill be more ping spindles describedhereinafter.

fully F i T e operation of the spindle drive mechavvertical shaft 23.

nism thus far described will now be iven. Power from any suitable sourceis apphed to pulley 6 which rotates shaft 5 and pmion 7. This pinionrotates shaft 11 through its connection through pinion 10, and hencerotates drive pinion 12 which meshes with a large horizontal gear 34-athat is j ournaled on the Rotation of gear 34-a drives a plurality ofwork spindles that drill the bore, face and bottom the bore, ream andcountersink, and ball seat the nut blank and each spindle has its drivepinions meshed therewith as shown in Figs. 1 and 6. Rotation of shaft 11also drives pinion 13 which rotates gear 14, inion 17, gear 18, pinion20 and arcuate rac plate 21. The rack plate through its peripheral teeth26 drives pinion 27, shaft 28, gear 31 and gears 32 and 33, the latterdriving the aforementioned tap spindles through therewith. Assuming theApinion 2O meshed with the inner series of gear teeth of the arcuaterack plates, it will be apparent that through the aforementionedconnections, the tap spindles will be driven in a given direction ofrotation, however when the pinion 2O reaches the end of the inner seriesof rack teeth it will roll to the outer series of rack teeth and hencedrive the rack plate in an opposite direction and through the abovedescribed connections will also reverse the direction of rotation of thetap spindles. The various parts are preferably so arranged and timedthat when the arcuate rack plate is rotating in one direction, the tapspindles will complete their threading on the nut blanks and whenreversed will remove the taps therefrom and permit the next series ofnut blanks to be aligned therewith.

The' mechanism for receiving the nut blanks and moving them with a stepby step circular motion beneath the tool spindle will now be described.

J ournalled transversely of the crank housing 3, and at right angles todrive shaft 5, is a crank shaft 40 which is driven by a gear 41 fastenedthereto and meshing with pinion 8 on the drive shaft. A crank 42 isfastened to shaft 40 and carries a crank pin 43 which in turn carries aconnecting rod 44 that is pivotally connected at one end to the verticalcolumn 2 while at the opposite end said lever is pivotally connectedthrough a link 46 to a cross arm 47, the latter extending throughapertures 48 in the side walls of the column 2 and being secured to asleeve 49 that is slidably mounted on the column 2. The cross arm 47 haspivotally connected thereto a connecting rod 50 which is attached at itsopposite end to a lever 51 intermediate the ends thereof. One end oflever 51 is pivtheir respective pinions meshed 1 'ournalled for verticalmovement in a pair base 1. A vertically disposed shaft 56a is journalledin block 54 and at its upper endA said shaft is fitted with a disk 56that carries a pin 57 while the lower end of shaft 56a is fitted with agear 58 that meshes with an intermediate gear 59 having a face somewhatbroader than gear 58 so as to form a driving connection therewiththrough'all positions of vertical movement of block 54 and shaft 56a.Gear 59 is journalled on a stub shaft 60 which projects upwardly fromthe base 1 and this gear meshes with a drive pinion 61 that is mountedon a vertical shaft 62, the latter being journalled at its lower end inbase 1 and at its upper end in the crank housing 3. A. spiral gear 63mounted adjacent the upper end of shaft 62 meshes with pinion 9 on themain drive shaft.

J ournalled on the truncated portion 65 of column 2 (Fig. 1) is anannular table 66 which is retained in position by a collar 67 threadedon the column just above the truncated portion thereof. This table isprovided with a plurality of clutches or chucks which receive the nutblanks, securely hold them whi-le the various tools operate thereon, andthen release them to be ejected as will be explained hereinafter. Eachclutch mechanism, as shown in detail in Figs. 19, 20 and 21 comprises aspring pressed rod 67, which extends vertically through the lower faceof the nut table, and at its upper end said rod is fitted with a head 68having one face thereof formed with a segmental spiral gear` 69. Thissegmental gear meshes with a similar gear segment 7() formed on acliitch member 71 that is journalled in a recess in the table andprovided with an aperture 72 of a prismatic cross section toV receivethe prismatic wrench receiving portion of the nut blank. Normallyaligning with the aperture 72 is a similar aperture 73 formed in anannular disk that is seated on the upper face of the. table. A spring74, interposed between a removable collar 75 on the lower portion of therod 67 and a collar 75a loosely surrounding the upper part of the rodand seated against a fixed shoulder, tends normally to urge the roddownwardly thereby rotating clutch member 71 to cause the `side walls ofaperture 72 to move out of alignment with those of aperture 73 and hencebind the prismatic portion of the nut blank securely in the table. Theclutches are released at the proper time, so that the nut blank may beejected, by the lower end of rod 67 riding up on a cam 76 (Fig. l)positioned in an annular groove 77 that is formed in the base portion ofcplumn 2. Upward movement 'of each rod 67 compresses spring 74 and byvirtue of the spiral teeth 69 and 70 each clutch member 71 rotates toalign 65 the side walls of apertures 72 and 73 and hence free the nutblank. The mechanism for ejecting the freed blank will be described indetail hereinafter.

Fastened to the lower face of the table 66 are a plurality of se mentalblocks 79 (Fig. 17) which are spaced apart to define radial grooves 80,each of which is adapted to receive the head 81 of pin 57 (Fig. 1) atpredetermined intervals and rotate the table through a' predeterminedarc. The pin 57 and grooves 80 in the table define a Geneva movement torotate the table with a step by step movement. During the intervals ofrest and while the tools are o erating on the nut blanks, the table islocke against movement by a pin 82 (Fig. 18) which moves upwardlythrough an aperture 83 in the column 2 and into one of a plurality ofapertures 84 in the table, the apertures 84 being arranged therein sothat each one aligns successively with pin 82 at the various eriods ofrest of the table. Pin 82 is pivota ly connected through a link 85 withone end of a lever 86 that in turn is pivoted at 87 to an offsetprojecting from column 2. The opposite end of lever 86 is pivotallyconnected through a link 88 to a strap 89 that is fastened to thevertically movable block 54. f l

A description of the operation of the mechanism for receiving the nutblanks and moving the table with a step by step circular motion will nowbe given. Rotation of drive shaft 5 is transmitted through pinion 8 andgear 41 to crank shaft 40 which in turn causes a vertical movement ofconnecting rod 44 and lever 45. Vertical movement of lever 45 istransmitted to cross arm 47 and sleeve 49 which in turn causes lever 51to oscillate vertically through the medium of connecting rod 5() andthereby raises and lowers guide block 54 which isattached to the freeend of'lever 51. Meanwhile rotation of drive shaft 5 is transmittedthrough pinion 9 and gear 63 to Vertical shaft 52 which in turn rotatesgears 61., 59, and 58, and also shaft 56a which is fitted with the disk56 and pin 57. The disk 56 and pin 5 7 rotate continuously at a uniformspeed and at the proper time intervaltheblock 54 is raised which carriesthe pin 57 upwardly and into engagement with one of the aforementionedradial slots or grooves 8O in the lower face of the table. Rotation ofpin 57, which is disposed at a predetermined radius on disk 56, carriesthe table through a predetermined arc, which in the present instance isa distance equal to that between two of the nut receiving apertures astwo of the nut blanksl are operated on simultaneously. lVhen the tablehas moved this distance, the pin 57 will become disengaged from the slotor groove 'in the table and thereafter the crank mechanism will lowerthe block 54 and associated parts so that the disk and pin may rotatefreely without engaging the table until the tools have completed thework on the nut 13 (itl ' blanks and they are to be again advanced tothe next position whereupon the c cle is again repeated. As the block 54moves ownwardly leaving the table at rest, the strap 89 pulls downwardlyon one end of lever 86 and raises the opposite end thereof to carry pin82 into an aperture 84 in the table and thus lock the table againstmovement. As the block 54 moves upwardly to again engage lGreneva pin 57with the table, the locking pin 82 is removed from the table apertureand hence the table is free to rotate. During each period of rest, apair of nut blanks are automatically fed to the table and positioned ina pair of apertures 72 and 73 therein by a mechanism to be describedhereinafter. The apertures 72 and 73 are aligned at the ejecting andreceiving stations by the clutch rods 67 riding up on the aforementionedcam 76, but as soon as the table rotates, these rods ride off the camand the springs 74 force the rods 67 downwardly to lock the positionednut blanks securely in the table as previously described.

The mechanism for feeding and positioning the nut blanks is shown indetail in Figs. 13 and 14. The nut blanks are fed from a suitable hopper(not shown) down a pair of inclined chutes 95 with the ball headedportions thereof upward and the prismatic Wrench receiving portionsdownward. These nut blanks move down the chutes by gravity and each nutblank is automatically ali ed with the receiving apertures 72, 73 in thetable and then pressed therein by a mechanism to be described.Projecting from the sleeve 49 on column 2 is a supporting bracket 96 inwhich is .mounted a pair of s aced and vertically disposed rods 97. Eacrod is engaged through a bushino 98 in the bracket and extendsdownwardly through a bushing 99 positioned within a sleeve 100 that isslidable in a bracket 101 projecting from the column 2. A spring 102interposed between bushing 98 and nuts 103 threaded on the upper end ofrod 97, and a similar spring 104 interposed between bushings 98 and 99serve to resiliently support the rod.V The lower end of each rodterminates in a flattened portion 105 that is disposed in a slot 106 inthe lower end portion of bushing 99, and the lower edge of thisflattened portion is provided at the rear with a downwardly extendingprojection 107 that serves as a stop to limit the travel of the nutblanks along a radius of the table. F astened to the lower portion ofeach bushing 99 is a pair of pivoted 4fingers 108 thatare adapted toengage beneath the head of .each nut blankY after it leaves the chute.kThese lingers and the stop projection 107 iserve to accurately alignthevnut blank over'the receiving apertures in the table, suchpositioning taking place while the sleeve 49 is in its upper -position.As the sleeve 49 moves downwardly as previously described, the rod 97moves downwardly therewith to push the nut into the aperture in thetable, and after the prismatic portion of the nut enters the aperture inthe table, the fingers 108 are released from the nut by pins 109 whichengage rojections thereon and swing the fingers a out their pivots. Thepins 109 pro- ]ect'laterally from suitable brackets 110 that extend fromthe column 2. Continued downward movement of sleeve 49 and bracket 96carries rod 97 downwardly and hence the lower end of this rod pushesagainst the head of the nut blank until it is completely seated in theaperture in the table with the head of the nut in contact with the tableas shown in Fig. 14. On the upward stroke of sleeve 49 the loadingmechanism is raised from the nut blank and the table is free to rotateas previously described. It will be understood, of course, that in thepresent instance two loading units are provided as shown in Fig. 13 sothat two nut blanks will be positioned in the table simultaneousl Thetool spindle mechanism for performino' the various operations on the nutblanks wil now be described and in the present instance, although thenumber of spindles may obviously be varied-to lit different conditions,comprises six drill spindles, two facing and bottoming spindles, tworeaming and countersinking spindles, two ball seatin spindles, two roughtapping spindles and two finish tap ing spindles makin a total ofsixteen wor spindles. It will e noted at this point that the nut blanksare operated on by the tools in pairs, that is, two nut blanks are fedto the table at once, and are then voperated on in pairs by the variousspindles and finally are ejected two at once from the machine. v

The work spindles, comprising six drill spindles and two each of facingand bottoming spindles, reaming and counter-sinking spindles, andballseating spindles, are driven from gear 34a at a constant speed and inthe same direction of rotation, while the remaining four tap spindlesare driven from gear 33 and rotate in one direction while threading thenut blanks and in a reverse direction when raised from the work.

Each drill spindle is identicalin construction adjacent its upperportion with the facing spindles, one of which is illustrated in.

Fig. 7 and reference to this ligure may be had for the drive andconstruction thereof, while the lower end portion of the drill pindle isshown in Fig. 9. Referring to ig. 7, each s indle comprises a verticalshaft 115 which is journalled in a bushing 116 that extends verticallythrough the lower wall 117 of gear casing 4, such wall extending beyondthe side walls of crank housing 3. The upper end of each drill spindleshaft is fitted with a pinion 118 which`meshes with the aforementionedgear 34a, (as clearly shown in Fig.

A Aaangaan 119 extends through a sleeve 122 that is journalled in abracket 123 projecting from crank housing 3 and the lower end of thisshaft is socketed and pinned to a member 124 that is formed with a ballshaped head 125. The

lower end of sleeve 122 is enlarged to receive the upper end of atubular shaft 126 which is'fastened thereto at 127. A flat key 128extends transversely through member 125 and has the ends thereofpositioned in elongated vertical slots 129 formed in tubular shaft 126thereby to provide a driving connection therebetween. A spring 130 ispositioned in tubular shaft 126 and abuts the ball shaped head 125 ofmember 124 at itsupper end while the lower end (as shown now in Fig. 9)abuts a plug 131 that is fitted in the lower end of tubular shaft 126.This plug is fastened to an annular socket member 132 by headed screws13,3 threaded into said member and having the headsl thereof projectinginto elongated bores in the plug thereby providing a connection whichwill transmit rotation and also permit a limited vertical movement ,ofthe member 132 and plug relative to each other. A bolt 134 threaded inplug 131 and having a ball shaped head seated in socket member 132permits a limited universal movement between the plug and socket memberby virtue of the connection therebetween just described. Socket member132 has fitted therein, one end of a shaft 13,5 that is journalled in abushing 136 which is carried by an arm that projects from column 2. Thelower end of this shaft carries a drill indicated at 137 which isdetachably connected thereto in any approved manner, not shown. From theconstruction above described, it will be evident that rotation of gear34 will rotate the pinionsi118 and shafts 115 which in turn transmittheir motion to their respective shafts 119. Each shaft 119 beingconnected to the tubular shaft 126 through key 128 as above describedcauses said tubular shaft to rotate therewith and in turn rotate socketmember 132, shaft 135 and the tool carried thereby. The drills areraised in pairs while the nut blanks Lare positioned thereunder by abracket 140 which projects from the vertically movable sleeve 49 oncolumn 2. Each bracket carries a thrust bearing 141 for each spindlewhich is interposed between the bracket and thel socket member 132. Asthe sleeve 49 is raised at a predetermined time, as previouslydescribed, the socket members 132 of each pair of drill spindles areraised within the tubular shafts 126 against the tension of s rings 130and on downward movement of eeve 49, the drills are engaged with andleaving the springs 130 to feed the drills into the nut blanks. Thelimited universal connection at 132 permits the various parts to operatewithout binding and insures free and easy movement thereof. The firsttwo drills carry the bores in the nut blanks substantially one third thetotal distance, the second pair of drills carry the bores substantiallyanother third of the total distance, while the third pair of drillscarry the bores the last third of the distance to which the blanks aredrilled, as shown in Fig. 24.

The next operation consists in facing ofi' the work, the sleeve 49continuing downward the top surface of the blanks and bottoming thebores, as shown in Fig. 24. This operation is carried out on two blankssimultaneously by a pair of spindles similar to the aforementioned drillspindles except that the feed of the tools for bottoming and facing isnot dependent entirely on the springs 130 but instead is positivelycontrolled by a feed screw to be described. Referring to Figs. 10, 11and 12, it Will be noted that the shaft 119* of each spindle is fittedwith an annular collar 142 and a bracket 143 between which is interposeda thrust bearing 144. The bracket 143 is common to both spindles and isformed with a vertically disposed screw threaded bore which receives afeed screw 145 that is carried by a shaft 146, the latter extendingupwardly through the gear casing 4 and carrying a gear 147 that mesheswith the reversible gear 33, as shown in Fig. 5. Bracket 143 is alsoprovided with a pair of spaced parallel apertures 148 which receivespaced parallel guide rods 149 that depend from a block 150 that isfastened to gear casing 4. Rotation of reversible gear 33 drives gear147 and shaft 146 thereby rotating feed screw 145 to raise or lower thebracket 143 depending on the direction of rotation of the gear 33. Thebracket 143 limits the downward feed of the spindles by the springstherein by virtue of its connection through thrust bearing .144 andcollar 142. The next operation on each pair of nut blanks consists inreaming the bore and countersinking the upper end portion thereof, asshown in Fig. 24, and the operation is carried out by a pair of spindlessimilar to those used for facing and bottoming except that theappropriate tool is used. After this operation, the surface of thespherical head of the nut blanks are machined byan operation4 known asball seating and two nut blanks are operated on by a similar pair ofspindles fitted with the appropriate tools.

The box tool by means of which the spherical head is machined formsanother of the novel elements ,of the invention and is shown in Fig. 7of thedrawings. The tool carrying spindle 135 is driven and fed by jtering of the box forming tool and hence,

the spherical head of the nut, with the previously drilled, faced andreamed surfaces.

The final operations consist in rought tapping and finish tapping theblanks. This operation is divided into two steps to lessen the work onthe taps and also to insure a clean cut thread. Each pair of threadingspindles is identical in construction and one of such spindles is shownin detail in Fig. 8. A ver tically disposed shaft 152 is journalled atits upper end in a shelf 153 projecting from the side walls of gearcasing 4 and at its lower end in the lower wall or base 117 of saidcasing. The lower end of this shaft is prof vided,with two threadedportions 154 and 155 `one being a right hand thread and the other a lefthand thread and each threaded portion has engaged thereon a block 156and 157 respectively. These blocks are adapted to seat within recesses158 and 159 formed in a supporting member 160 and fastened thereon byset screws 161. In actual use, only one of the threaded blocks 157 or156 is seated vithin its recess and fastened by screw 161 e to tappedwith a right or left hand thread. The lower end of shaft 152 is fittedwith an enlarged coupling block 162 and this block and a similar block163 are united for a limited universal movement by means of a ball 164and screws 165 having enlarged cylindrical heads 166 that project intobores 167 in block 162. `Block 163 is carried by the upper end of ashaft 166 which is connected at its lower end to a shaft 168 through asleeve 169 and shear pins 170 that are adapted to shear in event ofbinding by the tap. The lower end of shaft 168 is socketed to receive atap 171 and this socket communicates with a bore 172, which in turnopens into an oil manifold 173 surrounding the lower end of the shaft.

In operation, rotation is imparted to each shaft 152 by a broad facedpinion 174 secured thereto and meshed with the reversible gear 33 in thegear casing 3, as shown in Fig. 5. Rotation of shaft 152 is transmittedthrough -the above described connections to the tap,

meanwhile the entire spindle is fed downwardly by the screw threadedportion 155 engaglng block 157 in the present illustration while block156 rotates with the threaded ending upon whether the nut blanks areportion 154. The various parts are so roportioned that when the tapreaches the ottom of the bore in the nut blank the reversible gear 33will reverse its direction of rotation and the tap will rotate in anopposite direction and be withdrawn'from the work. If the thread of thenut is to be of a hand opposite to that above described, an idler gearis used to reverse the rotation of gear 174, the block 157 is releasedfrom its aperture 159, and block 156 is seated in its aperture 158 andsecured therein by set screw 161. It will thus be obvious that with theproper tap, the direction of rotation on the down and up stroke of thespindle will be reversed from thatV described above.

During the tapping operation, oil is fed under pressure to manifold 173from a suitable source and flows through bore 172 to the tap, thencedown the flutes of the tap into the bore of the nut blank and forces outthe metal chips while lubricating the tap.

It will also be understood that I provide in the present instance twospindles for rough tapping the blanks simultaneously and two otherspindles for finish tapping the, blanks simultaneously and all of thesespindles are substantially identical in construction with that describedabove.

The ejector mechanism for removing the completed nuts from the tablewill now be describedyand reference is had to Figs. 15 and 16. Journalled in a bracket 176 which projects from annular column 3 is a rod177 which is reduced in diameter at its upper end portion to define ashoulder. This reduced portion projects through a laterally extendingprojection 178 on sleeve 49 and is fitted thereabove with a spring 179and suitable nuts 180. .The lower end of rod 177 is connected through apin and slot connection indicated at 181 to a pair of levers 182 whichare pivoted at 183 to bracket 176. The opposite ends of these levers areconnected through a link 184 to a pair of knockout fingers 185 that arepivoted at 186 to bracket 17 6. These knockout fingers are adapted toenter the apertures in the table that receive the nut blanks and forcesaid blanks or finished nuts upwardly therefrom.

In operation, on the upward stroke of sleeve 49, the rod 17 7 is raisedby projection 178 forcing spring 17 9 upwardly and this upward force istransmitted through nuts 18() to rod 177. Upward movement of the rodlifts levers 182 and link 184 thereby pulling fingers 185 about their`pivots and disengaging them from the table apertures. Thereupon thetable rotates to bring two finished nuts in alignment with the knockoutfingers. As the sleeve 49 descends, the projection 17 8 thereon engagesthe shoulder on the rod and forces said rod downwardly and by theaforementioned connections with the fingers, projects said fingersupwardly into the table ap- `form of clutch mechanism for retaining thenut blanks securely in the tablefwhile the .various work spindles areoperating thereon.

In this instance, a plurality of inserts 191 each having a hexagonalaperture therethrough are positioned in an annular series about the topVface of the table. Directly beneath each insert is journalled forlimited rotary movement, a clamping element 192 which is provided with ahexagonal aperture therethrough and also with a pro'ection 193, theouter end of which is engaged y a spring 194 seated in a recess 195 inthe table. Spring 194 tends normally to rota-te the clamping element 192in a counter clockwise direction as Viewed in Fig. 22 to positiontheaperture therein out of alignment with lthe aperture inthe insert 191and thereby clamp a nut blank securely in the table. This rotarymovement of each clamping element 192 is limited, however, by a cam pin197 which projects through the table and is formed with a taperedportion 198 that is engaged by the projection 193. The lower end of eachpin is adapted to project in an annular cam groove, as previouslydescribed in connection with the first mentioned nut blank clampingmechanism. In o eration, each clamping mechanism is unloc red by the pin197 moving downwardly thereby causing the tapered portion 198 to forceprojection 193 and clamping element clockwise thereby aligning theapertures in the insert and clamping element. After the nut blank hasbeen positioned therein, the cam pin moves upwardly due to the camgrooveA and the spring 194 then rotates the clamping Velement counterclockwise to bind the nut blank against the stationary insert.

The detail operation of each mechanism of the machine has been given andfor a detailed description thereof reference may be had to that portionof the specification; however a general operation of the whole machinewill now be given.

The nut blanks are fed from a suitable hopper, not shown, down chutes,and are placed, two at once in the nut blank receiving apertures in thetable, while the same is at rest and in a manner already described. Thetable now rotates over an arc of a predetermined angle by means of theabove described Geneva mechanism. This movement of the table actuatesthe nut blank locking mechanism, as above described to securely lock thenut blanks in the table. a ertures, and also positions two of the blanksunder the first pair of drilling spindles. The table comes to rest andthe first pair of drill spindles descend and drill the two blanks adistance substantially one third of the total depth of the bore. Theactual depth drilled will, of course, depend on the hardness of themetaly of `the blanks and also as to the sharpness of the drills. At apredetermined time, the drill spindles are raised and the table rotatesthrough a similar arc to osition theaforementioned nut blanks un er thesecond pair of drill spindles. Meanwhile another pair of nut blankshavebeen fed to the following pair of apertures in the table and theseare now positioned under the first drill spindles. During the next cycleof operation, the second pair of drill spindles 'carry the bore in thenut blanks substantially two thirds of the total distance and at apredetermined time these as well as the first pair of drill spindles areraised and the table again rotates over a predetermined arc. Thisoperation continues with a step by step motion of the table, each periodof rest serving to position two new blanks in the table, and permit thevarious pairs of work spindles to perform their operations. Theseoperations consist of drilling the bore,facin'g off the top conicalsurface of the nut and bottoming the bore, teaming thebore andcountersinking the upper peripheral edge thereof, ball seating theconical surface of the nut, rough tapping the bore and finally finishtapping the bore.- The nuts are then ejected by the ejecting mechanismabove described.

During the operation of the various work spindles,oil is fed underpressure to the tools through suitable pipes and manifolds illustrated.in the drawings but forming no part of the present invention.

It will be understood, that while I have illustrated and described theabove mecha' nism as being particularly suited for `operating on nutblanks, that other articles could be operated on equally well by varioustools which might be mounted in thespindles.

I claim V 1. A .machine of the character set forth comprising a yworksupport journaled for rotary movement and having a plurality ofradiallydisposed slots therein, a chute for feeding articles to saidsupport, means for retaining said articles on said support, an elementrotating at a constant speed normally disposed out of operative relationwith said support, means for moving said element toward and fromsaidsupport at predetermined intervals thereby to bring the elementsuccessively into operative relation with the support and to engage saidelement with the radial slots in said support and move said support a'predetermined distance, and tool devices disposed in operative relationto said support and adapted to operate on the article thereon.

2. A machine of the character set forth comprising a base, a columnrising from said 'base, a gear housing carried by said column,

gearing in said housing, a Work support rotatably mounted on saidcolumn, clamping means for detachably retaining articles on saidsupport, a plurality of tool devices arranged about said column,mechanism for rotating said support with a step by step motion, meansfor operating said gearing, and connections between said gearing andsaid tool devices adapted to rotate certain of said tool devicesconstantly in one direction and other of said tool devices in eitherdirection, and a connection between said gearing and support rotatingmechanism.

3. A machine of the character set forth comprising a base, a columnrising from said base, a work support journaled on said column, meansfor rotating said support with a step by step motion, a sleeve movablelongitudinally on said column, a plurality of tool devices arrangedabout said column and engaged with vsaid sleeve, means for actuatingsaid tools, and means for moving said sleeve at predetermined periods tomove said tools toward and from said work support.

4. A machine of the character set forth comprising a base, a columnrising from said base, a work support journaled on said column, aconstantly rotating element carried by said base and adapted to engagesaid work support to rotate the same a predetermined dist-ance, a sleevemovable longitudinally on said column, a connection between said sleeveand said constantly rotating element, a plurality of toolI devicesarranged about said column and engaged with said sleeve, means foractuating said tools, and means for moving said sleeve at predeterminedperiods to move said tools toward and from said work support and engageand dis-engage said rotating element with said work support.

5. A machine of the character set forth comprising a base, a columnrising from said base, a work support -journaled on said column, andhaving a plurality of apertures therein adapted to receive articles,means for securing said articles in said apertures, a constantlyrotating element carried by said base, said element being normally ininoperative relation to said support but movable into operative relationtherewith to engage said Work support at predetermined intervals torotate the same with a step by step motion, a plurality `of tool devicesarranged about said column, means for moving said tool devices towardsaid work support during periods of rest thereof, and means for drivingsaid tool devices and said constantly rotating element.

6. A machine of the character set forth comprising a base, a columnrising from said base, a work support journaled on said column, aconstantly rotating element carried by said base normally in inoperativerelation to said support but movable into operative relation therewithto engage the under side of said support to rotate the saine through apredetermined distance, means for engaging said element with saidsupport at predetermined intervals to rotate said support with a step bystep motion, means for locking said support against rotation during eachperiod of rest, a plurality of tool devices arranged about said column,means for moving said tool devices toward and from said i support, andmeans for actuating said tool l devices and said element.

7. A machine of the character set forth comprising a base, a columnrising from said base, a work support journaled on said column, meansfor rotating said support with a step by step motion, means for lockingsaid support against rotation during each period of rest, a sleevemovable longitudinally on said column, a plurality of rotary tooldevices arranged about. said column and engaged with said sleeve, meansfor rotating said tools, and means for moving said sleeve atpredetermined periods to move said tools toward and from said worksupport.

8. A machine of the character set forth comprising a base, a columnrising from said base, a work support journaled on said column andhaving a plurality of apertures therein, means for automaticallypositioning articles in said apertures, a constantly rotating elementcarried by said base and adapted to engage said work support to rotatethe same a predetermined distance, a sleeve movable longitudinally onsaid column, a con- .nection between said sleeve and said constantlyrotating element, a plurality of rotary tool spindles arranged aboutsaid column and engaged with said sleeve, means for rotating certain ofsaid tool spindles in one direction and other of said tool kspindles ineither direction, and means for moving said sleeve at predeterminedperiods to move said tools toward and from said work support and engageand dis-engage said rotating element with said work support.

9. A machine of the character set forth comprising a base, a columnrising from said base, a work su port journaled about said column, achute or automatically positionin articles on said support, means forretaining said articles in position on said support, a constantlyrotating element adapted to engage said support to rotate the samethrough a predetermined arc, a plurality of tool spindles disposed aboutsaid column, mechanism for raising the tools from said articles duringmovement of said support and lowerin said tools into engagement with thewor during each period of rest of the support, and means for releasingthe article retaining means and ejecting the completed article from saidsupport in the relative approach and separation movement of said toolsand support.

10. A machine of the character set forth comprising a base, a columnrising from said base, a work support journaled about said column, adrive shaft journaled in said co l umn, a Geneva mechanism for rotatingsald support with a step by step motion, a plurality of spindlesdisposed about said column and in operative relation to said support, agear train for driving said spindles operatively connected to said driveshaft, and a connection between said drive shaft and said Genevamechanism.

11. A machine of the character set forth comprising a base, a columnrising from said base, a Work support journaled about said column, adrive shaft journaled in said column, a sleeve journaled forlongitudinal movement with respect to said column, a Geneva mechanismfor rotating said support with a step by step motion, a plurality oftool spindles disposed about said column, gearing for rotating saidspindles operatively connected with said drive shaft, a con nectionbetween said drive shaft and said sleeve to move the same longitudinallyof said column, means operatively connected with said sleeve and saidtool spindles to raise and lower the same, and an operative connectionbetween said drive shaft and said Geneva mechanism.

12. A machine of the character described, comprising a plurality of toolspindles and a rotatable work support, indexlng means to causesuccessive registration of said work support with said spindlesincluding a continuously rotating member adapted to engage the worksupport to index the same and means to move said member successively inand out of operative relation with said support, whereby the intervalbetween indexing movement may be increased relative to the intervalconsumed by the indexing move ment.

13. A machine of the character described comprising a rotatable worksupport and a plurality of tool spindles, a Geneva gear to effectsuccessive indexing of said su port relative to said spindles, and meansi) ing a longitudinal disenga ement of the ele" ments of said gear toren inoperative.

In testimony whereof he hereunto aiix his signature.

JAMES W. HUGHES.

or eifecter it temporarily

